Pollen Capital seeds online auction house BidX1
“Why would the auction sector not change?” asks Lindsey McMurray, managing director and founder of private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, which last month announced a strategic investment intended to “turbo-charge” the growth of online auction business BidX1.
Pollen has taken a stake in the business, which is now its neighbour after BidX1 opened its London office at 8-10 Pollen Street, W1, and will invest £10m-£15m in its expansion.
McMurray (pictured above, middle), who spoke exclusively to EG ahead of BidX1’s London launch party on 26 September, says the online auction business led by Stephen McCarthy (above, right, with BidX1’s Robin Cripp, left) is a clear fit with Pollen’s strategy of investing in specialist businesses capitalising on technological innovation and changing consumer behaviour.
“Why would the auction sector not change?” asks Lindsey McMurray, managing director and founder of private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, which last month announced a strategic investment intended to “turbo-charge” the growth of online auction business BidX1.
Pollen has taken a stake in the business, which is now its neighbour after BidX1 opened its London office at 8-10 Pollen Street, W1, and will invest £10m-£15m in its expansion.
McMurray (pictured above, middle), who spoke exclusively to EG ahead of BidX1’s London launch party on 26 September, says the online auction business led by Stephen McCarthy (above, right, with BidX1’s Robin Cripp, left) is a clear fit with Pollen’s strategy of investing in specialist businesses capitalising on technological innovation and changing consumer behaviour.
Modern methods
“The business is trying to bring a modern way of working to a tried-and-tested product. You can have a transformational impact by making a common-sense improvement,” she says.
McMurray sees elements of “incumbency and inertia” in the UK auctions sector and describes the auction buyer pool as “small and self-selecting”.
“Both the seller and buyer pool are small. We want to expand the audience on both sides,” she explains. “There’s a time and a place and a catalyst, such as accepting e-signatures. At some point there comes a moment when it is possible.”
McMurray, who now sits on the BidX1 board as a non-executive director, will work with McCarthy on plans to offer finance to its auction buyers to make the market more accessible. This is likely to involve working with challenger bank Shawbrook Bank, which Pollen acquired in 2011.
Balance sheet growth
Since then Shawbrook’s balance sheet has grown from £20m to close to £6bn. Insurance – another sector in which Pollen invests – will also be considered.
Pollen itself has more than £2.5bn of gross assets under management across private equity and credit strategies. It was founded in 2013 when the £1.1bn Special Opportunities Fund within Royal Bank of Scotland was spun out by its team led by McMurray.
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